[DeTomaso] [Fwd: Message From SEMA Action Network Regarding Collector Car Tax Hoax]

Rick rwgushue at verizon.net
Tue Apr 5 02:06:23 EDT 2011


   Glad to hear this....



SEMA  Action Network Members:



Some of you may have received notice of an alleged New York Times
article indicating that legislation was being drafted in the U.S.
Congress to create a federal tax on collector cars.  Hopefully, most of
you know by now that the article was an April Fools Day prank.  The
author has  indicated his regrets for any confusion or embarrassment to
automobile collectors and enthusiasts caused by the prank.  Below, we
have included the full text of his letter revealing the hoax.



Please contact me if I can be of additional assistance.



Steve McDonald

Vice President, Government Affairs

Specialty Equipment Market Association





SENATOR SCHUMER ?TAXING CLASSIC CARS? NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE REVEALED AS
ONLY AN APRIL FOOL?S PRANK



The Shelby American Automobile Club?s annual April Fool?s gag reached a
much wider audience that anyone could have predicted. Initially a
four-page newsletter was emailed to every member. It contained stories
about a perpetual motion ?68 Shelby, a ?69 GT350 that supposedly got 40
miles per gallon and a bogus front page recreation of the New York
Times, dated March 28th, that had two stories. One was a hoax about
purported tax legislation being prepared by Sen. Charles Schumer, which
would tax every collector car, antique, hot rod and race car in the
country. This was, of course, concocted out of thin air. But it was, on
the surface, believable and it hit numerous hot buttons of car owners.



As soon as some SAAC members read this they immediately went into full
?Paul Revere mode,? posting the article on a wide variety of Internet
car forums. Once on those forums, readers swarmed like angry killer
bees, both posting angry comments about the unfairness of the concept
and spreading parts and pieces of the original article in emails and
postings. It was the classic definition of something ?going viral.?



When readers on some forums recognized the whole thing as an April
Fool?s joke and posted this, other readers seemed to look right past the
warnings. We now know how Orson Wells must have felt after his 1938 ?War
of the Worlds? radio broadcast resulted in traffic jams as panicked
people tried to flee New Jersey.



While we enjoy a good April Fool?s prank as much as anyone, we never
envisioned that this one could spread so quickly or so widely beyond the
Shelby American Automobile Club. We deeply regret if taking this story
seriously has caused anyone any undue distress or embarrassment. To keep
more of that from happening we would greatly appreciate it if you could
forward this message to as many car enthusiasts as possible. If they
forward it to others who can forward it to even more people, maybe this
second message will catch up with and overpower the first one.



And finally, please do not contact Senator Schumer?s office. He already
has his hands full with real issues of importance.



Best regards,



Rick Kopec

Shelby American Automobile Club

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